My 2001 Road King Classic just started having an intermittent speedometer of late.

I spent today checking plugs under the console, (found the pink tach wire not pushed all the way into the Deutsch plug), and went to check the grounds under the seat. I had already pulled the sensor a few days ago and cleaned it off but it only worked for awhile, (now I know why).

I decided to check the sensor wire from the plug under the seat to the sensor. That is when I found the wire had been rubbing on a sharp corner of the oil dipstick/oil housing. From the sensor the wire went under the starter and then went around the housing then up through a bundled wire set that is zip-tied to the frame. From there it went up through a plastic loom and up to the plug under the seat area.

The rub-through occurred a few inches form the sensor and had just barely worn through the rather thick wire bundle cover. It had barely nicked, I could hardly see it, one of the wires. That is why it worked for a short time after I had moved the wire slightly while cleaning the sensor. It then fell back into the same spot it had been for the last ten years and continued to periodically short against the dipstick/oil housing. I split the wire bundle cover and checked with an ohmmeter, and that is when I confirmed the wire was laying slightly bare and had been grounding out.

Hope this helps someone who has had a similar problem.

 

wow, good job. little things like that can make you scratch your head for days.